This blog documents some successful ideas on how to drive membership in the Boy Scouts of America.

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Family Scouting – January 2018 Start for Girls in Cub Scouts!

As you hopefully already know, the BSA’s Board of Directors recently approved a plan to invite girls and young women into all Scouting programs. Requirements for females in the Scouting programs will be identical to the requirements for males.

Starting in September 2018, girls will be able to join Cub Scouts. Cub Scout dens will be single-gender dens. This way the boys and girls can learn and grow at the pace that is unique to their development. Packs can be all-boy packs, all-girl packs, or family packs with any combination of all-girl dens and all-boy dens. NOTE: Any den or pack activity involving girl Cub Scouts will have to have at least one Youth-Protection-trained female, 21-years or older, in attendance; this female will not have to be a registered Scout leader.

Current Boy Scout troops will not be affected, as they will remain all-boy. 2019 will see 11-to-17-year-old girls being able to join an all-girl BSA program.

The formal start of girls being able to join Cub Scouts is September 2018; however, there has been so much interest in starting sooner that the BSA has initiated an “EARLY ADOPTER” program. This program will allow girls to join Cub Scouts as early as January 15, 2018, and is available ONLY to qualified packs in councils that opt into the “EARLY ADOPTER” program.